Do guns belong in the hands of domestic abusers?

U.S. Supreme Court building in the fall - Kelly Roskam of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions discusses a Supreme Court case that will decide if a federal law prohibiting possession of firearms by people subject to domestic violence protection orders is constitutional - O n Nov. 7, the Supreme Court is scheduled to begin hearing United States v. Rahimi , a gun rights case that will decide if a federal law prohibiting possession of firearms by people subject to domestic violence protection orders is Constitutional-in other words, if an abuser who has a protection order or restraining order against them can legally keep their guns, according to Kelly Roskam, director of law and policy at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions. "The stakes are high," Roskam says. "If the Supreme Court overturns this law, it would likely increase domestic gun violence and put lives-especially the lives of women-at risk." Here, Roskam answers frequently asked questions about U.S. v. Rahimi. What is the U.S. v. Rahimi case about? What will the Supreme Court decide in U.S. v. Rahimi The current law, in effect for almost 30 years, protects abuse victims and survivors by prohibiting people subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms. It was routinely upheld as Constitutional, until a 2022 Supreme Court case, New York Rifle and Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen , placed all previously settled gun laws in jeopardy by significantly changing the way courts must evaluate Second Amendment cases.